Tag Archives: 2010s

As has been documented on these pages before, the current obsession with SUVs is not one shared here in TLCB Towers. However there is an exception. Volvo…

Sold by Ford during their purge in 2010 to stave off bankruptcy, Volvo are now under the ownership of Geely, and – much like Jaguar and Land Rover sold to the Indians by Ford two years previously – the Chinese have done a far better job of managing Volvo than Ford ever did.

By providing cash and economies of scale, but by letting Volvo be Volvo, the cars coming out of Gothenburg are a world apart from the dull badge-engineered knock-offs built under Ford’s stewardship.

The latest XC90 encapsulates this mantra; with superbly Swedish design, engines no larger than 2 litres, using turbocharging, supercharging, and hybrid electric to boost performance, and self-driving technology, Volvo’s flagship SUV is very probably the flagship SUV. Not bad for a company best known for estate cars.

This beautiful recreation of the latest XC90 ‘Excellence’ edition comes from previous bloggee dgustafsson1317, and he’s built the big Volvo brilliantly. A superbly detailed exterior (including bespoke 3D-printed wheels to replicate those on the real car) continues inside with a stunningly accurate interior, made all the more impressive by the need to squeeze in a raft of Power Functions electronic wizardry.

Five motors power the all-wheel-drive system, steering, and the electrically opening tailgate, all of which are operable remotely via a Bluetooth device thanks to a third-party SBrick. The build also features all-wheel suspension, neat brick-built windows, and some excellent custom badges too.

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Toyota may be the flag bearer for Hybrids in TLCB’s home market (in fact, they sell more ‘alternatively fuelled’ vehicles than all the other manufacturers put together), but Honda were right alongside them in the earliest days of Hybrid power when they launched in Insight way back in 1999, just two years after the first Prius.

Since then Toyota have gone on to massive Hybrid success with no less than seven Hybrid models available, however Honda now don’t sell a single Hybrid in our home nation at all. So what went wrong? Part of the blame lies with this car; the brilliant-looking CRZ.

With cutting-edge Japanese looks, forward-thinking Hybrid power (with a manual transmission too), and following the legacy left by the funky CRX, the CRZ should have been a success. Unfortunately 135bhp, a high list price, and underwhelming fuel economy (at least compared to European cars) meant the CRZ – along with the second generation Insight – bombed.

Honda ceased selling both models in Europe after just a few years, leaving a product range of just three cars – something the brand is only just recovering from now.

Perhaps what they should have built is this. Lachlan Cameron (aka Lox Lego) has recreated the CRZ’s razor-sharp looks in his Technic CRZ brilliantly, and he’s given the chassis a bit more bite than Honda managed too; Lachlan’s model adds a second electric motor giving his CRZ all-wheel-drive, which sure would’ve pepped-up the real car. There’s also remote control steering, electrically opening doors, torsion beam suspension, LED lights front and rear, a four-cylinder piston engine, and bluetooth control via SBrick.

The result is a superb Technic supercar that’s well worth a closer look, which you can do via both Flickr and the Eurobricks forum. We suspect the real Honda CRZ may one day be worth a closer look too, as we anticipate it becoming something of a cult car in time. Ironically – considering its failure – if the CRZ were relaunched today it’d probably do rather well…

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Flickr’s Simon Przepiorka is becoming something of a regular here at the Lego Car Blog with his superb Speed Champions scale replicas. This is his latest, Nissan’s 370Z in NISMO specification. Cunning techniques are in abundance and there’s more to see at Simon’s photostream via the link above.

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Ford’s current 345bhp all-wheel-drive Focus RS has gained worldwide recognition for being, well… mental. Now sold in the U.S, Ford are showing their traditional customer base that you don’t need five litres and eight cylinders to make a performance car.

However the RS has actually existed in all three generations of Focus, with the previous version being fitted with a glorious five-cylinder turbo engine from Volvo, then under Ford’s ownership, making 300bhp.

If that wasn’t enough power you could get your hands on one of just five-hundred RS500 versions, which upped boost to unleash a monstrous 345bhp (the same as the current car), but with all of that going through only the front wheels. Wet roundabouts must have been fun…

This spectacular Technic replica of Ford’s second generation Focus RS500 comes from previous bloggee Dugald Cameron and it’s absolutely packed with working functions. A five-cylinder inline engine sits under the hood linked to a six-speed gearbox, all wheels are independently suspended, and the car can be steered both by the steering wheel, which is also adjustable, and via a ‘Hand-of-God’ mechanism. A pneumatic e-brake is also fitted, the seats are fully adjustable, and the doors, hood and hatchback all open.

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We’ve publicised loads of Lego Ferrari 458 Italias over the years (like this one, this one, this one, this one, and this one). The Lego Community isn’t short of 458s then, but this beautiful Technic Supercar made us all stop and take notice.

Built by previous bloggee Jeroen Ottens it’s a commission piece in 1:10 scale, and not only does it look fantastic, it’s packed with working technical features too.

Independent suspension on all wheels, working steering with Ackerman geometry, a mid-mounted V8 piston engine connected to a functioning sequential gearbox, opening doors, hood and trunk, and the 458 Spider’s party-piece folding hardtop roof are all present.

Jeroen’s has photographed his Ferrari 458 Spider superbly and it’s available to view on both Flickr and at the Eurobricks forum – take a look via the links above.

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It seems like almost every week that a new supercar with a million horsepower and a VMAX of the Speed of Light is revealed in some sketchy form. Most of these (thankfully) come to nothing, but occasionally one such car does actually make it to production. This is that car.

Hand-built by some clever Danes, the Zenvo ST1, and then the later TS1 pictured here, fits every criteria for the ‘not gonna happen’ supercar going. 1,100bhp? Check. Carbon-Fibre bodywork? Check. 230mph+ top speed? Check. Only the Zenvo did get built, and continues to do so in upgraded TS1 form.

Only 15 ST1s and a similar number of TS1s are expected to be completed, and a few of those have met untimely firefly deaths, but nevertheless Zenvo have managed to build – almost completely in-house – one of the gnarliest and fastest road cars in existence. Except for when they catch fire.

This stunning Model Team recreation of the Zenvo TS1 comes from previous bloggee Alexander Pascholaletto and it captures the aggressive design of the real car brilliantly. It’s also a lot less likely to spontaneously combust. Head over to Flickr via the link above for all the shots.

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Lexus LFA’s are like buses. You wait ages for one and then two come along at once. That’s where the similarity stops though.

As per the other LFA post earlier this month a well-known presenter of a well-known motoring TV show (and its anonymous driver) claim that the Lexus LFA is the best car in the world. We wouldn’t go that far, but it is quite a thing. Spun from carbon using one of only two carbon-fibre looms in existence and powered by a sonorous F1-inspired V10 the LFA can lay claim to being one of the most unique supercars ever made.

This superb Model Team replica of Japan’s iconic supercar comes from Noah L (aka Lego Builders) and there’s more to see of the build on both Flickr and MOCpages – click the links for all the images.

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Or so claimed Top Gear’s Jeremy Clarkson and the Stig. The Lexus LFA wowed the motoring world when it arrived in 2010. Over a decade in the making and built using one of only two carbon-fibre spinning looms in existence the V10-engined supercar shot Lexus into the automotive premier league.

Just 500 units were manufactured in a two year production run and despite a base price of nearly $400,000 Lexus made a loss on every single one. You’ll need a lot more than $400,000 to get hold of one now though.

But why such high praise? The LFA was built celebrate Toyota’s F1 success which never came, and it wasn’t the fastest, nor the best handling, nor the best looking supercar of its time. One reason; noise. If you’ve never heard an LFA, click here and turn the volume up!

Previous bloggee gtahelper‘s Lego Lexus LFA may not be able to recreate the real LFA’s incredible sound, but in every other regard it’s one of the most remarkably accurate replicas that our Elves have ever brought back to the office. In fact we’re astonished that such a stunning recreation of a pretty tricky car can be made at this scale at all.

A whole gallery of images of gtahelper’s Lexus LFA is available to view on Brickshelf, where there’s even a link to building instructions so that you can create your own. Click the link above to make the jump to check out the best model of the best car in the world.